Job Discussion Forums

[reasonJP]

It's a bit like teaching in France, with all the French things replaced by Japanese ones.[/flippancy]

[G Cthulhu]

[Gusss]

Thanks China girl, Ripslyme , Brooks and Dove , for taking the time to reply - just the sort of answers I was hoping for ,
cheers,
Gus

[azarashi sushi]

I have lived in Tokyo for about 7 years. I haven't changed jobs in four years so I'm a bit out of toouch with how the job market is these days and from what I read on these boards, it's not so great.

Nevertheless, I would agree with what Brooks says. One of the main advantages of Japan is relative job stability and in my experience has always been relatively easy to find work. If you're prepared to work hard, you can do OK. You won't get rich but you can have a good life, travel a bit and save a bit. The cost of living is high though, so if you're just teaching part-time business classes, you might find yourself struggling financially a bit.

Short term, I think Japan is wonderful for anyone. The novelty factor will numb any pain! Long term, if you don't have a special interest in the culture, it could start to get in your nerves. In my case, I came to Japan for work and not out of a love of the culture... And while Japan has a fine culture and I like a lot of things about it, I don't have a special interest in it. After checking off things on my list of "things to see and do before I die", I've found I've had no interest in seeing or doing them again... I.e. Been to Tsukiji at dawn: check! Seen a sumo: check! Seen kabuki: check! This has been a bit of a source of frustration.

Again, I'm speaking about Tokyo here ... The big positives are that it is well organized and easy to live (on a superficial level). As long as you work hard and don't cause trouble, you won't have any trouble either.

The big negative of Tokyo is that it is a hideous place to live, unless you are VERY rich... And even then I could think of better places to live! Once you get over the initial "ooh! ahh!" reaction and see a few of the sights, you realize it's not a pleasant place to live long term.

I don't really know about rural Japan... There are job opportunites of course but the number will be far fewer than in Tokyo.

Hope this helps.

[Apsara]

Azarashi sushi, I have lived in Tokyo for 7 of the 10 years I have been in Japan, and I like it more all the time, and I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination. I just find it the most fascinating place. I might feel differently if I had to commute at rush hour and work for 12+ hours a day, but luckily I don't. I'm not a total Japan geek, but the people-watching opportunities here are unparalleled- I can't imagine ever getting bored with it.

When it comes down to it, I suppose the main draw of Tokyo is that my life is here- my husband, my friends, jobs I like- that makes it a good place to be.

[azarashi sushi]

Each to his own of course... And I'm just talking about my feelings here. Everyone goes through different phases in their life, our likes and dislikes change.

I just got to a point where the greyness of the city and people and all the other negatives were starting to outweigh the positives. No amount of people watching or retail therapy could do it for me! Oh well.

Just out of interest, what do you find fascinating about Tokyo after ten years here?

[azarashi sushi]

Just wanted to add too... I think another thing that has really ground me down is that I don't enjoy my work at the moment. I work a full time schedule split between two private girls high schools. Actually, one is great... I love teaching there but the other, where I work three days a week is not so much fun. There is a very cold, business like atmosphere there which I don't like. Half the students are asleep (and if you try to wake them up, you'll get a call from mummy the next day!) and the ones that are awake are btiches.

[Glenski]

[Gusss]

Azarashi sushi and Apsara,
thanks for your replies, I realise of course that everyones view is subjective. I Dont really like the sound of Tokyo to be honest but then Im not to keen on big cities in general anyway, I think Id prefer a smaller city or even rural area .
azarashi sushi- Lol ! That sounds like a bit of a nightmare with the girls - what are your working hours ? - do you tend to find you stick quite closely to your supposed working hours or do you often get asked to work overtime ?
I like to work hard of course but I have this terrifying impression of Japan that they might expect you to work 20 hours overtime each week for the good of the corporation. My friends in Japan work for quite affluent businesses so obviously they probably have an easier time of it than someone working in one of lower status schools.

[Apsara]

The OT you hear about is more for people working in IT, finance or other ordinary office jobs. You might occasionally be asked to do OT as a teacher, but it is usually voluntarily or very occasional.

Many of the Japanese people you see on the trains every day though will be working 12 hour+ days.

[azarashi sushi]

I work from 8.30 to about 4.30 or 5. I make a point of never staying late. I have on ocasions had to mark students homework at home, but that's about it.

I probably paint a grimmer picture than it actually is! The advantage of working in such a school is that people leave you alone... You just come in, do your work and leave, no fuss! Easy! On the other hand, it does feel very much like "just a job", the kind where you're constantly looking at the clock waiting for 5 pm to roll around.

As far as the students go, not all of them are btiches and it's mainly only with the senior 1 students. It's one of the top girls' schools in Tokyo. And it seems like the whole point of entering this school is ONLY to get into a good university... Forget about enjoying your school life or making friends!!

All students in Japan are basically under the same pressure and have to face the same entrance tests, but I haven't experienced the same coldness and single minded focus on JUST passing tests as I have here.

My class with S1 students is a once a week oral communication class worth only ten points of their final grade. It's also a complimentary text, so they are not going into the lessons cold. As well as that, it's not required for their entrance tests, so I think a lot of students really resent having to take this lesson when in their eyes, there is no point to it.

I teach classes of 40 students... Most don't do the homework or exercises in class, so it makes it very difficult (well, impossible actually!) to have any group discussion about answers. And as I said before, many students sleep and unfortunately there's not a lot that can be done about it. The thing that really grinds you down, is that despite all of this, as a teacher, I'm still expected to be professional and do my job well. At times it seems like a complete farce!

AS

[flyer]

[Apsara]

[Gusss]

[Glenski]